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Frontline soldiers to get better salaries and revised fixed-term contracts; Putin reacts to Ukraine’s increasing drone strikes. What we know on day 1,571

Ukraine will hike military wages and seek to recruit more fighters abroad, Volodymyr Zelenskyy has confirmed, as the army faces a manpower shortage after four years of war with Russia. Zelenskyy’s government said in May it would study possible measures to boost military personnel numbers after talks on how to end the war with Russia stalled. “We agreed on how to increase the financial resilience of our defence and further transformation of the Ukrainian army,” Ukraine’s president said on Friday after meeting key cabinet ministers. “The cabinet of ministers will approve a specific mechanism, and the government should start the first new payments as early as June,” he added.

Ukraine has secured a €90bn ($104bn) loan from the EU allowing the government to increase defence spending to a record 4.4tn hryvnias ($97bn) this year. The funds are due to start flowing this month. Zelenskyy said his government would raise the basic military wage by one-third to 30,000 hryvnias ($700). The step was aimed at matching the country’s average monthly salary, which has steadily risen during the war due to staff shortages, military analysts and economists said. Infantry soldiers fighting on the frontline will receive an average monthly salary of 300,000 hryvnias (about $7,000), up from about 100,000 to 150,000 hryvnias at present. They will also be offered a new type of fixed-term contract for 10, 14 or 24 months for combat duties.

Kyiv also wants to recruit more foreign fighters. “I have instructed to create significantly more opportunities to recruit foreign volunteers into the Ukrainian army, and there will be more recruitment channels in this regard,” Zelenskyy said. About 10,000 foreign volunteers have joined the Ukrainian army from more than 70 countries since the war began, according to estimates by Ukrainian military publications.

Ambassadors from the EU’s 27 countries agreed on Friday to advance membership talks with Ukraine and Moldova, with the first phase of negotiations to begin on Monday. Zelenskyy has made EU membership a key strategic goal. Writing on Telegram, he thanked the EU and its leaders “for this strong step for Europe”. He added: “Ukraine is carrying out what is necessary and it is important that the EU is also keeping its word.”

Vladimir Putin said Ukraine’s increasing drone strikes on Russia aimed to “sow confusion” and damage the country’s economy. Ukraine has hit ever deeper into Russia in recent months, regularly striking oil refineries and export hubs. “Their goal is to create a split in Russian society, sow confusion and inflict economic damage,” the Russian president told soldiers in a meeting at the Kremlin on Friday. “But they will not succeed.” The comments came hours after Kyiv said it hit a major oil refinery more than 1,000km (about 620 miles) from the frontline. Putin admitted that Ukrainian strikes had caused “economic damage” but claimed that “everything is quickly restored”.

The governor of Russia’s border Bryansk region said one person was killed and another injured in a drone strike on Friday, while the defence ministry said Russian air defence units had downed 185 Ukrainian drones over a 12-hour period. The region’s general headquarters, quoted by Russian news agencies, said air defence units had destroyed 62 drones, but gave no time frame for the action. Russia’s defence ministry reported 185 drones intercepted between 8am and 8pm (0500-1700 GMT) over about a dozen regions, most in central Russia.

Britain on Friday said a full ban on diesel and jet fuel made in Russia would happen by 2027 as it set out its timeline to end a temporary licence for Russian oil products. Britain last month said it would continue to allow imports of diesel and jet fuel refined from Russian crude in third countries, deferring a previously announced ban, citing supply issues caused by the Iran war. The government said existing sanctions were not being lifted but new sanctions were being phased in. On Friday the business and trade ministry said the temporary licence for phasing in the ban would expire by 1 January.

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• Real Madrid also among midfielder’s potential suitors

• Castellanos an option for Everton amid likely exits

Manchester United are leading the race to sign Mateus Fernandes from West Ham. The midfielder also has interest from Arsenal, Real Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain, but the strongest early moves have come from United as they look to boost Michael Carrick’s squad.

West Ham hope to receive £80m for Fernandes, although they may face financial pressure to drop their asking price after their relegation from the Premier League. The club lost £104.2m last year and need to raise more than £100m in transfer sales this summer.

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In video, The Hills actor, who did not contest the outcome of the election, said his campaign to ‘save’ LA was just starting

Spencer Pratt appeared to concede the Los Angeles mayor’s race on Friday in a new video where he says “the campaign portion of my mission to save Los Angeles is coming to a close”, but declares “war” against the two candidates advancing to the city’s general election.

In the video posted on social media, Pratt notably did not contest the results of the election, despite Donald Trump’s repeated, but unfounded claims the race was “rigged”. Trump, who endorsed Pratt, called California’s elections “crooked”.

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Beloved movie critic and arts reporter was known for bushy hair and mustache and affection for groan-inducing puns

Gene Shalit, a movie critic and arts reporter for the Today show over four decades who was known for his puffy hair, oversized handlebar mustache and affection for groan-inducing puns, has died. He was 100.

Shalit’s family announced the death Friday to NBC News, saying in a statement that he “passed away peacefully today after 100 years of an amazing life”.

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date stamped on slide May 1973

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The Justice Department has approved Paramount Skydance's $111 billion acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery without requiring divestitures or other concessions. The deal still faces scrutiny from state attorneys general. Politico reports: The decision, expected to be announced Friday, paves the way for Paramount to combine with the entertainment and media company behind a vast film and television studio, CNN, and the HBO Max streaming service, which would be combined with Paramount+ to create a new offering boasting about 200 million subscribers. The deal, which would upend the Hollywood ecosystem by combining two historic rival studios, is opposed by many in the entertainment industry who fear it could lead to mass layoffs, among other concerns.

After an extensive review, DOJ officials determined the transaction did not pose a threat to competition and declined to challenge it, said the people, who were granted anonymity to discuss sensitive matters. The department approved the merger without requiring any divestitures, behavioral remedies or concessions, according to one of the people. [...] The DOJ's approval does not end the merger's legal scrutiny. California Attorney General Rob Bonta has been reviewing the transaction and could still sue to block the deal despite federal regulators signing off. A spokesperson for Bonta's office told POLITICO earlier this week "the Paramount acquisition of Warner Brothers remains an active investigation."

[...] Throughout those discussions, Paramount maintained that the merger would strengthen competition rather than diminish it, creating a media company better positioned to compete with streaming leaders and deep-pocketed technology rivals, according to people familiar with the matter. Hollywood workers fear the merger could trigger another wave of layoffs in an industry already reeling from years of consolidation. Critics argue that billions in promised cost savings will come at the expense of jobs, fewer opportunities for creators and greater concentration of power across film, television and streaming.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

BERLIJN (ANP) - De Duitse minister van Binnenlandse Zaken Alexander Dobrindt ziet een groeiende dreiging van droneaanvallen op de Bondsdag. Dat blijkt uit een brief van hem aan de Bondsdagvoorzitter die het Duitse medium Rheinische Post heeft ingezien.

Gezien het stijgende aantal waarnemingen boven kritieke infrastructuur in de afgelopen maanden en de "abstracte dreiging" is de bescherming daarvan van bijzonder belang, aldus minister Dobrindt. Volgens hem is een "permanente drone-verdedigingscapaciteit" noodzakelijk om de federale overheidsinstanties te beschermen.

Een maand geleden waarschuwde Dobrindt ook nog voor de toename aan cyberaanvallen en zei hij te werken aan een actievere vorm van cyberdefensie, onder meer door nieuwe wetgeving. De aanvallen leidden vorig jaar tot meer dan 200 miljard euro aan economische schade. Dobrindt noemde toen Rusland als een bron van schadelijke cyberactiviteiten.

WASHINGTON (ANP/RTR) - Het Amerikaanse ministerie van Justitie is akkoord met de miljardenovername van Warner Bros. Discovery door Paramount Skydance. Dat meldt het ministerie in een verklaring.

Met de deal tussen de twee entertainmentconcerns is een bedrag van 110 miljard dollar gemoeid. De antitrustafdeling van het ministerie concludeert na maandenlang onderzoek dat de transactie geen bedreiging vormt voor de concurrentie.

Door de overname ontstaat een bedrijf dat naast veel Amerikaanse televisiezenders ook beschikt over duizenden bekende films en series. De voorgenomen deal werd in februari dit jaar aangekondigd. Onder meer acteurs, schrijvers en anderen in Hollywood lieten zich eerder kritisch uit over de deal omdat ze vrezen voor banenverlies.